HackTwat
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
<!-- /Medscape Header --><!-- /basic header --><!--local=en_us--><!--Lang=english--><!--imgSvr=http://img.medscape.com--><!--Version=NEWS: 01.30--><!-- article content goes here -->
<!--***Template for supporter badge-->[h=1]<ARTICLE-TITLE xmlns:dctm="http://www.documentum.com" xmlns:fmt="http://java.sun.com/jstl/fmt" xmlns:jsp="jsp" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Testosterone Gel Doesn't Boost Functioning in Older Men</ARTICLE-TITLE>[/h]April 05, 2013 By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 05 - Older men who use testosterone gel may see small improvements in their muscle-to-fat ratio but are unlikely to glean any benefits in flexibility, endurance and general ability to get around, new research suggests.
Men participating in the study had low to normal testosterone levels, were at least 60 years old and were functioning at a relatively high level to begin with. It's still unclear how long-term use of testosterone might affect frailer and more disease-prone elderly men, researchers noted.
"There may be specific populations of men for whom testosterone supplementation or replacement may be beneficial," said lead author Dr. Kerry Hildreth, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.
"But it's really not clear that in otherwise healthy, functional men in that low-normal physiologic range that using testosterone either alone or in combination with exercise added much."
The new findings, she said, suggest that testosterone "is widely used in people where it really may not be appropriate or may not provide the benefits that people think it's going to."
Abbott donated the testosterone gel used in the study, Androgel. The gel is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for men with hypogonadism.
Because testosterone levels decline naturally as men age, some researchers have wondered if treating older, healthy men could help slow changes in body composition and loss of strength.
To try to answer that question, Dr. Hildreth and her colleagues randomly assigned 167 older men to use testosterone gel or a placebo each day for a year, and to do strength-training three times a week or not.
Use of testosterone was tied to a two-pound decrease in fat mass and a two-pound increase in muscle mass, the study team reported March 26th in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Men who weren't told to exercise also saw improvements in upper body strength during a year of testosterone use, compared to placebo gel users.
Exercise alone led to improvements in body composition - but testosterone and strength training did not appear to have an additive benefit, the researchers found. And with or without an exercise program, testosterone gel did not improve daily functioning in tasks like climbing stairs or getting up from a chair.
Studies have come to contradictory conclusions on the effect of extra testosterone on men's health and physical abilities, Dr. Hildreth's team noted.
"A number of studies have shown consistent improvements in body composition... but they don't seem to translate into significant improvements in function," Dr. Hildreth told Reuters Health.
Some research has suggested that although testosterone may help improve muscle strength in frail, elderly men, the effects don't last after treatment stops (see Reuters Health story of Dec 3, 2010).
AbbVie, a spinoff from Abbott that markets Androgel in the U.S., was not able to not provide a comment before press time.
Men in the current study seemed to tolerate testosterone well, Dr. Hildreth noted. But there are still long-term concerns about side effects, such as abnormal blood counts and elevated prostate specific antigen levels.
"People should be careful about using it," she said.
SOURCE: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013.
<!-- article content ends here -->
<!-- Legal Block --><BKMTR-FRONT xmlns:dctm="http://www.documentum.com" xmlns:fmt="http://java.sun.com/jstl/fmt" xmlns:jsp="jsp"></BKMTR-FRONT>
Reuters Health Information © 2013
</PUBLISHER-NAME>
</P>Cite this article: Testosterone Gel Doesn't Boost Functioning in Older Men. Medscape. Apr 05, 2013.
<!-- /Legal Block -->
<!--***Template for supporter badge-->[h=1]<ARTICLE-TITLE xmlns:dctm="http://www.documentum.com" xmlns:fmt="http://java.sun.com/jstl/fmt" xmlns:jsp="jsp" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Testosterone Gel Doesn't Boost Functioning in Older Men</ARTICLE-TITLE>[/h]April 05, 2013 By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 05 - Older men who use testosterone gel may see small improvements in their muscle-to-fat ratio but are unlikely to glean any benefits in flexibility, endurance and general ability to get around, new research suggests.
Men participating in the study had low to normal testosterone levels, were at least 60 years old and were functioning at a relatively high level to begin with. It's still unclear how long-term use of testosterone might affect frailer and more disease-prone elderly men, researchers noted.
"There may be specific populations of men for whom testosterone supplementation or replacement may be beneficial," said lead author Dr. Kerry Hildreth, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.
"But it's really not clear that in otherwise healthy, functional men in that low-normal physiologic range that using testosterone either alone or in combination with exercise added much."
The new findings, she said, suggest that testosterone "is widely used in people where it really may not be appropriate or may not provide the benefits that people think it's going to."
Abbott donated the testosterone gel used in the study, Androgel. The gel is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for men with hypogonadism.
Because testosterone levels decline naturally as men age, some researchers have wondered if treating older, healthy men could help slow changes in body composition and loss of strength.
To try to answer that question, Dr. Hildreth and her colleagues randomly assigned 167 older men to use testosterone gel or a placebo each day for a year, and to do strength-training three times a week or not.
Use of testosterone was tied to a two-pound decrease in fat mass and a two-pound increase in muscle mass, the study team reported March 26th in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Men who weren't told to exercise also saw improvements in upper body strength during a year of testosterone use, compared to placebo gel users.
Exercise alone led to improvements in body composition - but testosterone and strength training did not appear to have an additive benefit, the researchers found. And with or without an exercise program, testosterone gel did not improve daily functioning in tasks like climbing stairs or getting up from a chair.
Studies have come to contradictory conclusions on the effect of extra testosterone on men's health and physical abilities, Dr. Hildreth's team noted.
"A number of studies have shown consistent improvements in body composition... but they don't seem to translate into significant improvements in function," Dr. Hildreth told Reuters Health.
Some research has suggested that although testosterone may help improve muscle strength in frail, elderly men, the effects don't last after treatment stops (see Reuters Health story of Dec 3, 2010).
AbbVie, a spinoff from Abbott that markets Androgel in the U.S., was not able to not provide a comment before press time.
Men in the current study seemed to tolerate testosterone well, Dr. Hildreth noted. But there are still long-term concerns about side effects, such as abnormal blood counts and elevated prostate specific antigen levels.
"People should be careful about using it," she said.
SOURCE: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013.
<!-- article content ends here -->
<!-- Legal Block --><BKMTR-FRONT xmlns:dctm="http://www.documentum.com" xmlns:fmt="http://java.sun.com/jstl/fmt" xmlns:jsp="jsp"></BKMTR-FRONT>
Reuters Health Information © 2013
</PUBLISHER-NAME>
</P>Cite this article: Testosterone Gel Doesn't Boost Functioning in Older Men. Medscape. Apr 05, 2013.
<!-- /Legal Block -->
